Today's Gospel parallels the commissioning of the Apostles as found in chapter 9 of Luke's Gospel. This is the only account in the Gospels of the sending out of a group of 70 disciples. It also reflects the experience of Luke's community where larger groups of missionaries were sent out to preach the Good News. As our text today indicates, preaching the Gospel could be considered a dangerous occupation, or at least an unpopular one.

Paul, in our second reading today, certainly knew how dangerous it could be - he bore in his own flesh, as he tells us, the wounds of Christ from the beatings and stonings he received as a result of his missionary efforts. We know that even today there are those who still suffer persecution on behalf of the Name of Jesus. While not all of us might consider ourselves professional missionaries, through our baptism into Christ we are all sent out to share the Good News we have received with others, each in our own way. Of course, to live out the Gospel and its values in our lives will sometimes also cause us difficulties and bring us into conflict with those who do not share them.

Jesus reminds us in the closing verses of today's Gospel, however, that our efforts to preach the Kingdom of God are part of the cosmic struggle against evil which Jesus has already definitively won through his suffering, death, and resurrection.